


We've Got Chemistry, That's All

by CosmicallyLyss



Series: the only one to hold you so close and so tight [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Acquaintances to Lovers, Alternate Universe - High School, Bad Boy Yeosang, Chemistry, Denial of Feelings, Detention, First Dates, First Kiss, Flirty Yeosang, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, I promise, Kang Yeosang is Bad At Feelings, LITERALLY, Light Angst, Light-Hearted, M/M, Misunderstandings, Model Student Seonghwa, Park Seonghwa is Not As Pure As You Think, Secret Crush, Seonghwa cares too much about grades, Sorry Not Sorry, Yeosang can't control his mouth, all the boys are the same age, am i projecting?, based on a semi-true story, because yeosang is smart, but that's a real secret, but when do I not???, but yeosang knows about it, catch some yungi if you can, it's not internalized homophobia or anything, literally just made that a tag, okay so now there's a little bit of, shy seonghwa, supportive rest of ATEEZ, thank my good friend for it, the title is a pun, which turn out alright, yeo's just in denial, yeosang also has a crush, yep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-11-03 17:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17882303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicallyLyss/pseuds/CosmicallyLyss
Summary: Kang Yeosang was an infamous figure in Hana Academy Seoul. His mouth was filthy and dripped muddy insults on a daily basis. But as irritating and disruptive as the teenager was, for all the damage he caused, he was never thrown out of the prestigious private school. And why? His father had money.Park Seonghwa was a respected figure in Hana Academy Seoul. He had a flawless track record, and was the prime example of purity. All students and faculty loved him for his sweetness. He gave love and got love in return, but once again, in the purest form.___________________________aka, the one where Yeosang is the school's rebel and Seonghwa is top of the class. Seonghwa thinks he's boring and has a hopeless crush on Yeosang, and Yeosang thinks he's only worth it when it comes to cash, and most definitely doesn't like Seonghwa. Not at all. The two get in trouble during chemistry class, leading to a few things: they get detention, Seonghwa's perfect record is soiled, and the two get a chance to hash their feelings out.





	1. “And I don’t feel bad about what happened,”

**Author's Note:**

> So I've had this in my drafts since 22 February because apparently I'm slow o o p s i e s???? Basically this series is just gonna be a mix of oneshots in this universe I've crafted because I've decided I wanna do that!! I hope anyone that has clicked on this fic decides to read it!! There's a bit of angst and self-hatred because when will I not write that?? The time is yet to be announced. I'm hoping those that read will enjoy the fic! The good boy/bad boy dynamics in this just satiate me and I never knew I wanted this AU and now I'm rambling soooo I hope you all enjoy!!

     Kang Yeosang was an infamous figure in Hana Academy Seoul. The person who spent more time in detention or being suspended than he did in actual class. The person that wore enough eyeliner to make a raccoon feel bare-faced. The person who always wore that goddamn leather jacket written and painted over with profanity and vulgar imagery that was just _so Yeosang_ over his uniform. The person that broke rules like he broke hearts - mercilessly and at least once a day. He was nothing but trouble, all icy eyes and a cold, never-cracking exterior. His mouth was filthy and dripped muddy insults on a daily basis. But as irritating and disruptive as the teenager was, for all the damage he caused, he was never thrown out of the prestigious private school. And why? His father had money. And regardless of whether or not Yeosang was blackened in the eyes of the teachers and students - like Seonghwa - he was golden in the eyes of the high-ranking administrators. The weight his name carried was his shield against any real, permanent punishment. Suspension and detention didn’t matter, because Yeosang was always back, sooner or later. His wealth saved his skin time and time again. And Seonghwa found it positively infuriating.

 

     Park Seonghwa was a respected figure in Hana Academy Seoul. All soft smiles and gentle gestures. Students swooned over his nurturing nature and admirable ambition. He was the top of his class, on the verge of getting a full scholarship to each of the top universities in South Korea. He had a flawless track record, and was the prime example of purity. He rarely - if ever - cursed, he had never smoked, never drank alcohol. He was the poster child for respectfulness and the optimal representation of a perfect student. All students and faculty loved him for his sweetness. The riskiest thing the boy had ever done in his life was enter this year of schooling with bleached hair, the shade a striking platinum blonde against his honey skin. He had been terrified, but everyone praised him for the new style and for embracing a harmless way to express himself. He gave love and got love in return, but once again, in the purest form. Seonghwa had never kissed anybody, never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, never even expressed interest in anyone. But he was Park Seonghwa, so nobody expected him to - the debauchery that came with high school love was too risqué for someone as soft and angelic as Seonghwa. His reputation was flawless in its purity.

 

But reputations were just gathered information compounded into what would be accepted as facts based on group observation. In simpler terms, a facade. And Seonghwa’s snow white purity? It was exactly that. Now, there was no doubt that he was a phenomenal student - his lowest ever mark being a 98% and his clean slate when it came to behavior proving the previous statement true. And what everyone believed about his personality was true as well. Seonghwa was the type of person to blow off personal plans that he’d normally use to sit back and relax in favor of helping people out that needed it, especially those older than him. Most people saw Seonghwa as a prince among commoners, a young knight that proved chivalry wasn’t dead, but when Seonghwa looked in the mirror, he just saw a regular boy that thrived off of making others happy. And all the notions stated about his love life were upheld by fact. Seonghwa was an untouched angel. But it was common belief that Seonghwa’s thoughts about relationships were as soft and pure as his cuddly exterior. These believers all couldn’t be more wrong.

 

It shouldn’t really be  _ that  _ surprising that Seonghwa’s thoughts could easily be turned sinful. Facing the raw facts, he was a teenage boy. A teenage boy with hormones and desires that weren’t as innocent as the common belief of Seonghwa’s personality liked to say. And he wasn’t raunchy, not in the slightest. Keep in mind he’s never been with anyone before. He had his thoughts, and that was all. Which Seonghwa was more than fine with. Thoughts were healthy, self gratification would suffice, especially when the person Seonghwa wanted was someone unattainable. Seonghwa could more than easily deal with his less than pure mind. It was the subject of his thoughts that drove him to exasperation.

 

The leather-clad, dirty-mouthed, ice-eyed absolute terror that was Kang Yeosang. Seonghwa had never shared his secret attraction to anyone for a number of reasons. One, he wanted to keep his reputation fair and stellar. Two, they were his own private thoughts; why the hell would he be obliged to voicing his desires to anybody? Three, even in the 21st century, South Korea was not the most accepting of homosexuality. It was common belief that Seonghwa was straight, because that was just how a heteronormative world worked, but that was one of the most false assumptions made about Seonghwa. Only his three best friends knew that he was gay, and they kept his secret like true friends would. Four, Seonghwa was attracted to Yeosang. The same Yeosang that graffitied anything he felt like. The same Yeosang that thought it was acceptable to blatantly ignore school rules. The same Yeosang that had every girl and boy wrapped around his finger just to crush their hearts under the heel of his combat boots. The same Yeosang that, despite the fact that Seonghwa had shown no interest - outwardly, that is - in, decided to take every moment to openly flirt with him.

 

     Sometimes it was casual, a soft smile shifting to a smirk the Devil himself would be proud of. Other times it would be slightly more noticeable, a lazy wink that Yeosang would throw in Seonghwa’s direction because he felt bored. But there were the times - that occurred most often - involving no subtlety. Yeosang would stare down Seonghwa in the few classes they had together and practically undress him with his eyeliner-intensified gaze. He’d shamelessly slide his pen between his constantly reddened lips and draw it farther into his mouth, all the while holding a fierce round of eye contact with Seonghwa, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow arching as he saw the faintest hints of a pink blush gracing the high points of the blonde’s cheekbones. Seonghwa absolutely despised Yeosang - well, not exactly. He despised the effect the vexing boy had on him. Seonghwa never lost his focus in class except for when Yeosang was staring at him like a predator would its prey. So, to keep his reputation untainted, Seonghwa would avoid Yeosang at any cost.

 

     When Yeosang had been on the verge of failing history, and their professor kept both him and Seonghwa after class to ask if Seonghwa would mind tutoring him, the blonde had stumbled over his words in a rushed excuse to avoid having to take on the task. The white lie worked, resulting in a few different things: Seonghwa could keep his sanity and Yeosang ended up failing that semester. Yeosang’s failure aggravated Seonghwa past lines he didn’t even know existed before Yeosang crossed them. No, he wasn’t pissed because the boy had failed; he wasn’t annoyed because he knew that if he had offered to help, Yeosang wouldn’t have failed. Yeosang wasn’t an idiot, and if he put in the effort, we would be passing with flying colors - almost on Seonghwa’s level. But he just didn’t care. Academics were nothing to him, and he brushed them off as if they were negligible particles of dust on that damn leather jacket. That was what angered Seonghwa. Seonghwa took everything academic to heart, and would berate himself at any grade lower than 100%. And there would even be times where the perfect marks couldn’t satisfy him, because he had “just guessed on that question” or “could have incorporated such a better vocabulary into that essay”. He cared too much, and Yeosang not enough. So was that it? Was the ‘help everyone’ part of Seonghwa just twisting his aggravation at seeing someone fail when motivation was the only thing stopping them from succeeding into attraction? 

 

     He wanted to believe that was true, that he didn’t actually care for Yeosang like that and only thought about him constantly because his behavior and attitude pissed him off. But the many nights that Seonghwa would wake up in the middle of, both hot and cold flashes running through him with the dream of those damned cherry red lips already fading, proved that his hopeless crush was exactly that. Hopeless, because why would Yeosang like him back? A crush, because Seonghwa was just going to  _ be  _ crushed once Yeosang found out and shattered his heart like he did to all his other admirers. But throughout all the agita this crush was putting him through, Seonghwa had one thing going for him. It was a secret.

 

     Except… No, it really wasn’t.

 

     Part of Yeosang’s rebellious charm was his charisma. His people skills. His way of understanding how others worked, what they liked, what made them tick. It was why a large part of the student body gravitated towards him. Every kid had their secrets, and every kid wanted Yeosang to figure it out and anonymously call them out for it. It was a sick sense of satisfaction for the students, to know that their guises weren’t as strong as they thought, and for Yeosang, it was enjoyable to know things. He’d never expose people by name or out them or things of that nature. He wasn’t a bad kid, just a curious one. And at first, Seonghwa confused him. How could someone be so goddamn perfect? He had no flaws in his appearance or skill set, and his personality was unrivaled. He was the only student who had never come to Yeosang looking for his secrets to be pried into and excavated. Seonghwa was the first person whose secret did truly puzzle Yeosang. But all it took was one day for him to uncover what the school’s perfect boy was hiding under his exterior.

 

     When his grade in history was dropping faster than the pants of the students Yeosang would give just a bit of attention to, which was an immensely impressive speed, he’d been forced to stay after class with the professor as he called over Seonghwa and asked if he’d be willing to tutor Yeosang, that was when he figured it out. Seonghwa had stammered out some pathetic excuse and scampered out of class without even looking Yeosang in the eyes. It was a behavior pattern Yeosang had seen more than enough times to recognize what it meant. Mr. Perfect had a typical schoolboy crush. How cute. Part of Yeosang’s brain had turned elated when he made the realization. Finally, he had some dirt on the golden boy’s snow-pure record. And if he wanted to, he could take the blonde off his perfect throne built off his perfect grades and perfect personality. But the other part of Yeosang’s brain was the sensible part. And subsequently, the part that had been harboring feelings for the other back when he had first realized girls just didn’t do it for him.

 

     The equation worked out perfectly. “Person A liking Person B” plus “Person B liking Person A” equals “Happy Relationship”. But as it turned out, Yeosang was absolute shit at math. He was good with figuring out people - stellar, even - but responding to them? Connecting with them? A damn funny story. Yeosang had three friends, all “rich kid troublemakers” like him. Song Mingi, Jeong Yunho, and Choi San. It was an unspoken rule that they were the four that you didn’t mess with. And for a damn good reason - the four boys had influence from the money their name carried. Yeosang had the three of them, and in all honesty, that was it. He was terrific at exposing people and getting into their heads, and horrendous at befriending people and getting into their hearts for a reason other than lust. But Yeosang had his three friends and his reputation… One that scared others away from him… But it was a reputation nonetheless, so shouldn’t he be fine with that?

 

     “Yeosang. Yeosang? Earth to Yeosang?” Yunho’s voice snapped the boy in question out of his reflective trance. “You wanna be lab partners?” Right. Chemistry class. The present. Reality. That’s where Yeosang had to be; not his own head. Daydreaming about how his worth was monetarily phenomenal but interpersonally nonexistent. Quickly, Yeosang scanned the classroom. Most people had paired up already, but there were a few lone stragglers. And much to Yeosang’s surprise, Seonghwa was alone. As Yeosang finished his scan, he realized why. Seonghwa also had his respective three closest friends - Choi Jongho, Kim Hongjoong, and Jung Wooyoung - in the class. Wooyoung and Jongho had already formed their pair and were heading to the back lab table, and Hongjoong was absent. Other classmates were making their way over to him, offering their partnership, but Seonghwa kept politely turning them down. Yeosang narrowed his eyes and almost snorted. What, was he planning to work by himself? Did he think his academic prowess was too precious to share?

 

     “I need to knock perfection down a peg.” Yeosang spat. “Work with Mingi, he’ll give you a better grade than I could anyway.”

 

     Yunho rolled his eyes, smacking Yeosang in the back of the head. “Just admit that you’re falling for him and it’ll make your life so much easier.” Before he could hear Yeosang’s response, he walked away, wrapping an arm around Mingi’s shoulder as he - loudly - announced “C’mon, bro, you’re giving me a good grade.”.

 

     And even though Yunho was now wrapped up in something else entirely, it didn’t stop Yeosang from grumbling an overly defensive “Fuck off, nobody would wanna get romantically involved with someone as bland as him.” before sauntering off towards the supposedly bland boy. A boy was looking up at Seonghwa with only the most innocent of eyes, asking if he would work with him, and Seonghwa got a shy - pained - smile. It looked as if he couldn’t decide whether to start laughing or crying. And as odd as it was, Yeosang found it strangely endearing. No. Interesting? No. Enthralling? Even worse. “Sorry, man,” Yeosang said as he sidled up next to Seonghwa, startling both him and the other boy. “Seonghwa’s already working with me.”

 

     Seonghwa was sure he was dreaming. In no way would the infamous Kang Yeosang that seemed to get off on teasing Seonghwa until he was on the verge of jumping into the nearest volcano offer - no,  _ declare  _ \- that the two of them were working together. The boy that had previously asked nodded quickly and scurried away. Seonghwa turned and scowled at Yeosang, his normally passive eyes glinting with frustration. “What was that for? Maybe I wanted to work with him, did you ever think of that?” Seonghwa sighed when Yeosang only gave him a blank stare. “Of course you didn’t. Why would Kang Yeosang ever spare a second to think? How utterly moronic of me to think that you’d waste your precious time actually taking the desires of other people into account.”

 

     Yeosang had to admit he was taken aback for a moment. There was a fire in Seonghwa’s eyes, and his jaw was set in a way Yeosang had never seen before. “Who got your panties in a bunch, blondie?” Yeosang taunted, his arms crossing over his chest.

 

     Seonghwa huffed in annoyance as he looked around in a desperate attempt to escape before registering that everyone else had already paired up. Which meant his master plan of avoiding Yeosang to avoid embarrassing himself, or even worse, letting hints of his crush show, was destroyed. “Just-” Seonghwa glanced towards the ceiling as if asking the angels up above to bestow a blessing of protection on him. “Just don’t interfere with the lab. Don’t mess anything up. I’ve been balancing a ninety-nine as my average and I’ve been planning to have it round off to a hundred after this lab. So do me a favor - if you can even comprehend what that means - and don’t screw this up for me.”

 

     Yeosang honestly didn’t really know what to think of Seonghwa’s words. Sure, he’d never really spoken in depth to the other boy, so it wasn’t like he could have any expectations. But from the meek persona he had always carried with him and the way he blushed when Yeosang would do as little as throw a teasing wink his way, Yeosang had never assumed his words to be so assertive. As he stared at Yeosang in silence, it was finally dawning on him why he had chosen to work with Seonghwa in the first place. It wasn’t to knock him down a peg or two, it was because his teenage hormones decided to take precedence over his sensibility and say ‘Pretty boy is open to work with. You work with pretty boy.’. Yeosang wanted to kill his hormones. “Whatever, blondie. Work your magic and gimme a good grade or some shit.”

 

     “You are infuriating.” Seonghwa responded without missing a beat. “And I truly hope that you’re aware of that fact.”

 

     “Think whatever you want of me, I think it’s impossible for me to care less.” Lie. “Just get all the stuff and do all the stuff like you want and I’ll leave you alone.” Lie.

 

     Seonghwa licked his lips before biting down on them, his eyes closing. A completely innocent act, but it still affected Yeosang in ways he never wanted to be affected - and especially not by the paragon of perfection. “Pick one of the lab tables, I’ll get everything I-” He coughed. “I’ll get everything  _ we  _ need.” And just like that, Seonghwa had turned from a fiery boy Yeosang was getting riled up by to a soft-spoken boy focused solely on the task at hand.

 

     “You can’t just order me around, this is a two person project. And as much as you’d like to believe, I’m not totally incompetent.” Yeosang snapped, glowering at Seonghwa. “Contrary to what I know you’re thinking, I’m more than my dad’s company name.” Yeosang paused after his sentence like he had to digest the words in order to force himself to believe them. “Just go get your shit, blondie.”

 

     Seonghwa’s frown deepened with frustration as he turned, headed towards the main table for chemicals Yeosang couldn’t force himself to care about. As Yeosang watched the taller boy walk away, he couldn’t fight back Yunho’s words and stop them from re-entering his mind.  _ Just admit that you’re falling for him… _ Sure. Like hell he was. Just because he wanted to make Seonghwa smile and talk to him like a normal person without firing an insult or threat in someone’s direction didn’t mean he was losing himself in enamoration. Just because he wanted to hold Seonghwa’s hands and maybe even wrap himself up in the slightly older boy’s sweaters didn’t mean he was falling for the other. Yeosang didn’t fall for people. And especially not flawless masterpieces like Park fucking Seonghwa. Yeosang had enough shit to work through on his own - having a boyfriend, especially one as impeccably stunning as Seonghwa, would just complicate his life even further. He already had the classic “rich-boy-daddy-issues” cliche burdening his life, and adding having to worry about a love life on top of trying to manage his own life was out of the question. Seonghwa had already walked back to where Yeosang was standing before the black-haired boy had the chance to pull himself from yet another self-deprecating train of thought.

 

     “The one thing I asked you to do was get a lab table.” Seonghwa stated. He looked… Disappointed? “I just- Why did you even want to work with me?” He was glancing down at Yeosang with a mix of pity and confusion in his gaze, and admittedly, it caused Yeosang’s blood to boil.

 

     “What?” He he retorted, overly defensive as per usual. “Is your superior intellect too priceless to waste sharing it with someone as rough around the edges as me?” Yeosang’s gaze was naturally sharp, and with it being accented by just the right amount of makeup, he looked downright intimidating. But to either Yeosang’s chagrin or his joy, Seonghwa wasn’t taking the bait and gearing up for a challenge.

 

     “That’s not what it is, Yeosang.” Seonghwa’s face fell, and it crushed Yeosang. Sure, the boy had made Seonghwa’s expression change a multitude of times before - but it was always to shyness or sometimes, which Yeosang loved, a small grin - but he’d never made Seonghwa look this explicitly sad. He’d never even  _ seen  _ Seonghwa look as devastated as he did now, but before he could work up a flimsy apology, Seonghwa continued to speak. “You’ve just never shown any sort of interest in me…” He trailed off, cheeks tinting themselves pink. “I mean, you haven’t ever talked to me. So coming over here and asserting yourself as my partner-” Once again, Seonghwa’s speech halted. “As my lab partner, I mean, it was just unexpected. I wanted to know your reasons, but if you don’t want to tell me, obviously you don’t have to. I guess I’m just a bit curious as to why  _ the  _ Kang Yeosang wanted to waste his time with the school-certified most uninteresting prude. Don’t you have cooler friends to hang with?”

 

     Now it was Yeosang’s turn to frown. Did Seonghwa really think of himself as some prudish, boring kid? Yeosang had seen how he acted around his friends - carefree, cracking jokes left and right, and never failing to bring light wherever he went - so how was it possible for Seonghwa to not see what Yeosang so clearly could? Yeosang wanted to say something along the lines of  _ You idiot, why can’t you see how fucking perfect you are? _ , but he could only mutter a few misplaced words under his breath, “You fucking idiot…” falling from his lips.

 

     Seonghwa backed away, a faraway look entering his eyes. “Real nice, Yeosang.” His voice was shaky, and it made Yeosang curse himself out in his head with the rage of a thousand fires, all fresh from hell. “Just go fuck around with your friends and I’ll get you your grade.” Seonghwa’s tone was void of emotion, causing Yeosang’s fists to clench at his sides in self-directed anger. The lack of expression mixed with that being the first time he’d ever heard Seonghwa curse led to Yeosang recoiling in shock. Without a response, he walked away to an empty lab table. As he trekked across the room, people parted away from him. Of course they did, of fucking course. Yeosang wished he could scream, wished he could show people that he wasn’t the seductive, unattainable villain they made him out to be. But instead, he squared his shoulders and steeled his gaze, freezing anyone that made eye contact with him.

 

     Seonghwa eventually walked over, his steps light and calculated, all the materials for whatever procedure he needed to do in his grasp. He was silent as he set the materials down on the black table, silent as he handed Yeosang a pair of goggles, silent as he attached the plastic tube to a bunsen burner and reached over by the sink to turn the gas on, silent as he grabbed the striker and lit the scientific instrument with one drag of the striker. Perfect in one shot, but what else was to be expected of Seonghwa? As the small blue flame erupted from the opening of the equipment, Yeosang had the odd desire to touch the fire. Was that weird? It wasn’t that he wanted to hurt himself, he wasn’t like that, but it was a part of the sickening curiosity he possessed.

 

     “…Yeosang. Yeosang? Yeosang!” Seonghwa was becoming more and more agitated with every repetition of Yeosang’s name, but by the seventh time, he had finally caught the other boy’s attention.

 

     “Huh? What is it? Does Blondie actually need me for something?” Yeosang spat, eyes narrowing. “Or are you going to question my motivations for every decision I make again?”

 

     Seonghwa’s face flushed, but this time it wasn’t a flustered reaction based on Yeosang’s less than demure teasing; he looked frustrated and angry. “I really don’t know what it is you have against me…” He mumbled, teeth clamping down on his lower lip to stop any more words from slipping out. His words were true, he didn’t have any notion as to why Yeosang was so unnecessarily aggressive towards him. Seonghwa wanted to yell at his heart, convince it that pining after Yeosang was a hopeless thing, because clearly, the shorter boy wanted nothing to do with him. “I just wanted to ask if you could hand me a pencil.” Seonghwa could feel an ache in his jaw from the intensity of it being clenched and stiff. “But forgive me, I forgot you don’t do things that don’t solely benefit you.”

 

     Yeosang was ready to lay down in the middle of the road and let the cars have their way with his body. He really could never stop his mouth from running; he didn’t know when to tone down anything, and now he was faced with the repercussions. He had tried to take control of the reins around his heart, steering it towards sensibility instead of defensiveness, but clearly it only led to more antagonism between him and the boy he most definitely didn’t want to date. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, and tried that mentally counting down from ten trick that San had taught him to help him with his anger. “I’m not as much of a selfish dick as you think, you know?” Yeosang muttered, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. “Just because I’m not a goody-two-shoes, people-pleasing, straight-laced perfect student like you doesn’t mean I’m the human equivalent of Satan. Although I’m pretty flattered you give me that much importance.”

 

     “Shut up and just give me the pencil, Yeosang.” Seonghwa huffed, his platinum hair falling over the goggles covering his eyes and providing him a shield from Yeosang’s intense and watchful gaze. Yeosang almost growled - yeah,  _ growled  _ \- low in the back of his throat, but he caught himself and nipped his aggravation in the bud. He reached over into his bag and pulled out a worn out pencil. It was missing its eraser, about as long as his little finger, and the point was so worn down it was practically inverted. As Yeosang spun back around to hand the stupid boy the stupid pencil, his arm knocked into the bunsen burner, sending the metal contraption crashing sideways. The flame from the actual extinguished as it fell, but the lab papers it had fallen on lit up, heat flaring up as the papers caught fire and small clouds of smoke entered the room. “Yeosang, what the fuck?!” Seonghwa exclaimed, pushing the dark-haired boy out of his way to rush towards the cabinet containing the fire blanket. Apparently, Seonghwa was louder than he had intended to be, because the room had silenced itself, and all eyes - including their teacher’s - were on him and Yeosang. As Seonghwa threw the fireproof cloth down over the burning papers, and whirled around to face Yeosang with a look of incredulous irritation, their teacher walked over, brow furrowed angrily.

 

     “Would either of you like to explain the meaning of the commotion?” With the way he spoke, it was obvious that the professor already knew everything he needed to. Yeosang’s eyes glinted with darkness, and he opened his mouth to speak, but was met with a firm “Mr. Kang, close your mouth.” He looked over the two teenagers with disapproval. The expressed emotion shifted to disappointment when he faced Seonghwa, who practically cowered under their teacher’s irate eye contact. The entire room was quiet to the point where the sound of a pin dropping would be audible. “So, let me get my facts right. The two of you were careless enough to knock over your lit bunsen burner, and Mr. Kang over here isn’t following proper dress procedures. Is that correct?”

 

     “Yes, sir…” Seonghwa’s eyes were boring holes into the tile floor.

 

     “I would expect better from you, Mr. Park,” Their teacher admitted, the disappointment returning to his face. “I hate to do this, but not even you can get special treatment. I’ll be seeing the two of you after school ends for detention.”

 

     Seonghwa’s reaction might have been overdramatic, but he felt as if his world was crumbling down around him. His thoughts spiraled exponentially. His perfect track record was ruined, his parents would find out, they’d ground him, they could fucking disown him for all Seonghwa knew, he’d be living on the streets, he’d have to drop out of school, he’d never finish his education, never get a job, and be a homeless beggar for the rest of his now worthless life. The other kids in the class were looking around at each other in disbelief, and Seonghwa felt a lurching in his stomach; a need to escape. Without another word towards his professor, towards Yeosang, towards  _ anyone _ , he made a hurried beeline towards the door, grabbing his bag in the process, and willing his angry tears to hold off from spilling for just a few minutes. His throat felt like it was closing, and he felt utterly idiotic. Why did he let Yeosang work with him? Why did he ask  _ anything  _ of the other boy? Why didn’t he realize that something would get fucked up, because when would his life ever be nice to him? And why, damnit, why was he overreacting to such a high degree? Seonghwa kicked open the door to the bathroom, not caring about anything anymore, and entered the first stall, locking it behind him, and letting his head fall against the cold metal of the door.

 

     And then came the tears.

 

     It was stupid, but it didn’t mean Seonghwa wasn’t affected by it. He lived a pathetic fucking life, where the only thing he had pride in was his clean slate and perfect grades, but those were ruined. He felt ruined, and he couldn’t help but blame it on Yeosang. Was knocking into the bunsen burner an honest mistake? Probably. But something inside of Seonghwa, some deep desire that craved vengeance, was convinced that it was an intentional and vindictive act. Yeosang wanted to bring Seonghwa down, that’s why he insisted on working with him. It was the only explanation Seonghwa could accept, and as he paced the miniscule floor space the bathroom stall provided him with, he only got angrier.

 

     Meanwhile, Yeosang felt like a fucking idiot. He was getting dirty looks from every angle, his only saving grace being Yunho and Mingi, looking at him from across the class with unfeigned concern. The two boys glanced at each other for a moment; Yunho leaned closer to Mingi to whisper something in his ear, and Mingi nodded. The two of them walked quickly, their strides evenly matched with the other, and they grabbed Yeosang by one arm each, dragging him out of the room. As soon as the door closed behind the three boys, Yunho had Yeosang slammed against a locker, and Mingi was leaning down to be at face level with Yeosang, asking a confused, “What in the actual levels of hell did you do?”

 

     “I knocked over a stupid fucking fire tube!” Yeosang shouted, trying to wrestle out of Yunho’s iron grip to no avail. “And now everyone fuckin’ hates me more than they already do, because cliche bad boy Kang Yeosang fucked up and got high school heartthrob Park Seonghwa into trouble for the first time in his prettily perfect life.”

 

     “You realize what you’ve actually done, right?” Yunho questioned, his normally grinning mouth twisting into a frustrated frown.

 

     “Yeah, Yunnie, I do.” Yeosang grumbled, still trying to squirm away from the two tall boys. “I made more people hate me because everyone loves Seonghwa and I just screwed him over.”

 

     “You are so damn dense.” Yunho stated, leaning back as he rolled his eyes. “You screwed over your chances with him. I tell you to work with him because I’m trying to get my bro a boyfriend-” Yeosang’s eyes widened and he hissed out a ‘Shh!’ as Yunho continued to speak. “-and you go and try to become an arsonist and burn down the school.”

 

     “It was an accident!” Yeosang protested, his eyes darkening. “And I don’t like him,” Mega lie. “And I don’t feel bad about what happened,” Major lie. “So if you could let me go off and distract myself from the fact that half the student body will want my head on a spike for tainting their pretty little angel, that would be fuckin’ wonderful.”

 

     “Why won’t you just admit you like him, Yeosang?” Mingi sighed. “You’ve got all the classic tell signs, just a shit way of expressing them.”

 

     “How the fuck would you know what liking someone looks like? You’ve been single all your life.” Yeosang threw his head back. As it hit the locker, he winced, missing the weighted look that Mingi and Yunho exchanged.

 

     “I’m not as dense as you. Now you better use your time in detention to apologize, fix things, and tell the damn kid how you feel. But when you talk,  _ please  _ don’t do that thing where you have a sentence in your head and get tongue-tied and only say a few words from aforementioned sentence, leading to you insulting someone, leading to misunderstandings and fights and whatnot. Okay? Actually, no, you aren’t getting a choice. If you don’t stop acting like a dumbass, Yunho and I are joining the Put Yeosang’s Head On A Spike club.”

 

     “Why the hell am I friends with you two?” Yeosang spat. To anyone else, Yeosang’s eyeliner-accentuated death glare would bore holes deep into their souls, but Yunho and Mingi just took the supposed-to-be-intimidating look in stride, brushing it off as if Yeosang were a toddler about to throw a hissy fit. “Because I’m seriously questioning myself and my decisions.”

 

     “You damn baby…” Yunho released his grip on Yeosang, now running his hands through his hair to try and push it back off his forehead. “We’re your friends because we care about your well-being, and you know that. Minnie and I - and San - are here to stop you from being an idiot and screwing yourself over. We aren’t the type of people that sugarcoat shit, because there’s no point in skirting around something. Even if it was an accident, you fucked up, so now you gotta own it and rectify it. It’s already last period, and…” Yunho paused to check the time on his watch. “You’ve got about fifteen minutes ‘til class is over, so I’d suggest using that time to prepare how you’re gonna fix your mess.”

 

     “And if I don’t?” Yeosang’s challenge was an empty threat, but a challenge nonetheless.

 

     “You have Yunho, San, and me on your ass until you do. Now stop getting inside your own head and fix your bullshit.” Mingi gave Yeosang one last cold look that was a mix of ‘I care about you, so stop being an asshole’ and ‘you fucked up bigtime, man’. Yeosang draped his arm over his eyes, groaning out curses to nobody in particular. With his obstructed vision, he didn’t catch how Yunho’s hand slipped into Mingi’s back pocket as the two of them silently walked away, eyes consistently darting around to scan the halls for other kids.

 

     In the next fifteen minutes, Yeosang’s apology consisted of absolutely nothing. Yeah, he felt pretty fucking terrible, but one measly “sorry” wasn’t going to do shit. It wouldn’t erase the detention or take back the look of transparent betrayal Seonghwa had given him. The bell rang, and Yeosang whined a dragged out curse, pushing himself off the row of lockers to trek back towards the detention room. When he got there - five minutes late, because like hell would he show up on time for this crap - Seonghwa in all of his fragile glory was nowhere to be found. To have the blonde be late for something was unimaginable, and when he entered the classroom in the next five minutes, clearly out of breath, Yeosang was half expecting him to be carrying a late pass.

 

     “I’m so sorry, ma’am…” Seonghwa bowed his head in both respect and embarrassment as he took a seat - the farthest possible from Yeosang - and quietly slid in one of his earbuds. “I didn’t have the slightest idea where I was supposed to come for this.” The woman just nodded, looking bored as she took sips of her coffee.

 

     The room was deathly quiet, especially considering Seonghwa and Yeosang were the only two kids with after-school detention for the day. Although, it was only silent for Yeosang; Seonghwa had his steady stream of music - his other earbud was in now - and he was in his own little bubble in the opposite corner of the room, bobbing his head to the melody only he could hear with his eyes closed and mouthing the words of whatever song he had playing. The same wave of curiosity that had plagued Yeosang when he wondered what it would be like to thrust his hand into the bunsen burner flame washed over him again; he wanted to know what song Seonghwa was listening to. He pushed himself up from his chair and strode over to Seonghwa, still oblivious to the world around him, sitting down adjacent to him. He pulled one of the earbuds away from Seonghwa, making the boy’s eyes snap open in alarm. Before he could protest, Yeosang was already inserting the earbud into his own ear. The song playing was one he had heard before, one he typically listened to, one he never imagined Seonghwa knowing. Yeosang was only able to catch two lyrics from the song before Seonghwa pulled the earbud away, looking practically scandalized. The lyrics were in English, but Yeosang had looked up the full lyrics to the song after the first listen, and knew the translation by heart.  _ I’ve been thinking ‘bout my life. Is it better if I die?  _ “What the hell are you listening to that kind of music for?” Yeosang blurted out.

 

     “Please just don’t talk to me.” Seonghwa’s voice was devoid of emotion like it had been earlier, and it frustrated Yeosang beyond belief. And even though Yeosang was sitting right next to him, Seonghwa still kept his eyes trained on the smartboard in front of him. “And don’t interrupt my time to listen to music.”

 

     “You’re listening to an existential song with a couple less than subtle references to suicide. Why?” Yeosang always viewed music as a way to truly see into someone’s soul and inner thoughts, and the fact that the poster child for facile happiness was listening to something like this didn’t fit into the archetype Yeosang had stuffed Seonghwa into.

 

     “Just back off, Yeosang.” Seonghwa turned to face Yeosang this time, and the shorter of the two was shocked to see that Seonghwa’s eyes were bloodshot, and even slightly puffy. “Get away from me, and go fuck someone else over.” There it was again - Seonghwa cursing, completely breaking the stereotype everyone seemed to be compliant in shoving him into. And… Had he been crying?

 

     “Were you crying?” Yeosang asked bluntly, apparently still not in control of his mouth.

 

     “Back.  _ Off.  _ Yeosang.” Seonghwa’s words were hissed out through gritted teeth, and he turned away just as quickly, once again putting in his earbud and trying to block out Yeosang’s incessantly aggravating questions.

 

     “Why do you hate me?” Yeosang’s tone had lost malice; instead, it held sincere confusion and hints of regret. Seonghwa didn’t answer, so he was either making a conscious effort to ignore Yeosang, or he legitimately couldn’t hear him. So Yeosang asked again, louder this time, but was once again only met with radio silence. In the middle of his next repetition, he was cut off by Seonghwa’s irritated response.

 

     “I don’t hate you. I’m just pissed off at you, and you know what? I’ve got good reasons to be. Not only do you rarely get in trouble for all the shit you do just because your daddy’s got cash, you have some penchant for going after everyone in the student body. At least once a day, you do  _ something  _ to me, and I don’t even know what the hell it’s for. Are you trying to seduce me like some damn incubus? Or are you trying to out me in front of the whole school? Because honestly, tell them if you fucking want, I don’t care anymore.” Seonghwa’s chest was tight as he looked at Yeosang who just stared at him in silence. “What? I answered your stupid question, can you leave now?”

 

     “You know today was an accident, right? And that I’m sorry about it?” Yeosang asked, because apparently he and Seonghwa could only hold a question-based conversation. “I’m not a terrible person, I wouldn’t have purposefully done something like that.”

 

     “Oh, just cut the crap now.” Seonghwa glared at Yeosang out of the corner of his eye. “You force a partnership between us, and the only thing you do is try to burn down the class. Whatever you’re trying to do to me to ruin my clean slate, congratu-fucking-lations, it worked. Are you happy now? Are your sadistic desires fulfilled?”

 

     “I fucking apologized, Seonghwa!” Yeosang’s voice had definitely raised in volume, but the detention supervisor was too enthralled in her computer to notice. “I don’t know what else you want from me… I know how much your academics mean to you, an--”

 

     “You don’t know the first thing about me, Yeosang, so don’t even pretend. I am nothing without my perfect record, and you screwed it up. So, thanks to you, I’m literally nothing. You got what you wanted, you should be ecstatic.” Seonghwa spat.

 

     “Why the hell would I want to do that?” Yeosang was becoming exponentially more frustrated. “Just…” Mingi and Yunho’s words were running around inside his head. “Let me make this up to you. I feel terrible.”

 

     “You know you can’t just get your dad to pay off a detention, right?” Seonghwa sounded uninterested, even though Yeosang had just offered to somehow rectify what he’d done.

 

     “Actually, that’s where you’re wrong. He’s done it for me more times than I can count. But that’s besides the point. I’m…” Yeosang’s sentence stopped for a moment. “I’m worth more than just a few bucks… Listen, I know I can’t really fix this. But I feel like shit, because you’re a great person and didn’t deserve to have this happen to you. Just, I don’t know, let me take you out to dinner tonight or something, I can at least  _ try  _ to get your mind off of all this.”

 

     Seonghwa’s eyes went wide, and he quickly picked up his phone to pause his music. It was then that Yeosang’s brain caught up to what his mouth had said. He’d offered to take Seonghwa - the boy he didn’t like, the boy who he was almost positive liked him - out on a date. Tonight. He half-expected Seonghwa to look disgusted, and maybe even collect his things and move seats, but a small smile graced his features, and he turned towards Yeosang. “Now do you see what I mean?” There was a sense of mirth in his voice, and Yeosang was confused. “You’re literally some sex demon trying to drag me in.”

 

     Yeosang honestly had to put a great deal of effort into not laughing. “Listen, listen…” Yeosang started, searching for ways to defend himself. “I’ll have you know I’ve never tried to make advances on anybody. They all come to me because apparently, I’m what they’re all looking for in a guy. Because my dad’s wealthy and I stopped caring about my own life years ago.”

 

     “Wait, hold on, what? Stopped caring? Are you…” Seonghwa trailed off, his dark eyes shining with a fresh coat of concern.

 

     “No.” Yeosang spoke with certainty. “I’ve just got the ‘cold, uncaring, enigmatic’ personality that everyone wants to see up close.”

 

     “I don’t think you’re cold.” Seonghwa responded in complete sincerity. “Defensive, yeah, but not cold. And you’re not uncaring, even if you have odd ways of showing people that you do care. You know, like, asking them out. But enigmatic? Yeah, I could see that.”

 

     Something stirred inside Yeosang, right around where his heart was. He had to remind himself that he didn’t have feelings for Seonghwa. “Detention ends in a few minutes.” Yeosang said softly after looking at his phone.

 

     “And?” Seonghwa prodded, folding his arms across his chest. “Is that supposed to get a reaction out of me?”

 

     Yeosang’s face felt like it was burning, but he steadied whatever rush of emotions he was feeling and reminded himself of the Put Yeosang’s Head On A Spike club. “Am I taking you out tonight or not?” He tried his damnedest to sound uninterested - he  _ was  _ uninterested - but a small trace of hopefulness was evident in his words.

 

     “That depends,” Seonghwa glanced at Yeosang. When the other boy didn’t speak, he continued. “What is this? A pity sort of thing, a distraction from my sadness, or a date?”

 

_      I want it to be a date.  _ Yeosang’s hormones said to his brain.  _ I am going to kill you later, we don’t like him.  _ Yeosang’s brain said to his hormones. “I want it to be whatever you want, blondie. I haven’t stopped feeling like shit since I knocked the stupid thing over, and I want to make things up to you. So whatever you want, that’s what it is.” Yeosang said to Seonghwa.

 

     “Well… I would hate to be pitied, and a distraction is no way to cope with an issue, so that only leaves us with a date.” Maybe Seonghwa was trying to come across as teasing, but the sugary sweetness behind his voice just made Yeosang’s heart melt - wait. Pause. No, it didn’t. Yeosang was wholly unaffected. “But there are just a few things I’ve been mulling over. I’ve never gone on a date before… Is my first date really going to be spent with the same Kang Yeosang that ‘never dates’ because it requires ‘too much commitment’?”

 

     “The only reason I ever said that was to get people off my ass. Figuratively  _ and  _ literally.” Yeosang was quick to defend himself. But not because he wanted to convince Seonghwa he wanted to go out with him. He didn’t want to.

 

     “Fine.” Seonghwa spoke cooly, and he regarded Yeosang with a side-eyed glance. “But since you offered to take me on a date, you’re responsible for planning it.” Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out something - Yeosang noted it was a gel pen, a purple one - and grabbed Yeosang’s hand. Yeosang most definitely didn’t feel anything from the action; the shiver that he’d felt run down his spine was probably just from the room getting colder. Seonghwa was scrawling something on the back of Yeosang’s hand, and quickly pulled the writing utensil away before the shorter boy had the chance to question his actions. “I’ve already finished my homework for tonight. So text me later and tell me where we’ll meet up; I’ll spare you the struggle of picking me up and stuff like that, so just give me some general information. Is… Is that okay?”

 

     “I wanna pick you up,” Yeosang responded quickly, and he realized that he would need to have a stern talk with his mouth and yell at it for always just blurting out random shit that he totally didn’t mean. “I mean, you said this was going to be your first date, so I wanna make it a good one for you. Besides, it’s the least I could do for screwing up your school day, like, why not make your night better?” Yep, Yeosang was going to have to tape his mouth shut.

 

     Seonghwa shifted away to hide the faintest appearance of a blush on his cheeks. “Alright then, Yeosang. Pick me up, take me out…” He looked back towards Yeosang with a boyish grin making his features turn soft, and right as he picked up his phone to turn his music back on - afterwards staying silent and closed off to the world for the rest of detention, even walking out without so much as a goodbye to Yeosang - he said, “And make it a night I’ll never forget.”

 


	2. "I totally just overshared"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeosang hated playing the card that was always dealt in his hand, but this was necessary. He was getting Seonghwa his fucking flowers. “My name’s Kang Yeosang. You might recognize it, you know, since my family is this place’s biggest sole investor. Now, what do you think would happen if you denied the heir to the company some flowers?” Alright, maybe Yeosang didn’t entirely hate playing entitled rich-bitch when it was called for. He bit back a smirk as the girl’s eyes widened and her phone fell from her grip, clattering to the countertop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tHIS BITCH IS FINALLY POSTED AHJHHFJFN USUALLY I HAVE QUALITY THINGS TO SAY BUT NO NOT TODAY (cue BTS) I AM TIRED I AM AN EMOTIONAL WRECK I LIKE A PERSON SHDHJSJFHHDHF LIFW IS CONFUSING ENJOY YOUR SEONGSANG HAPPY BIRTHDAY SEONGHWA ILY (it's still April 3 here hhhhhhh) UHHH SLIGHT WARNINGS FOR TEEN RATED CONTENT I.E., MAKING OUT N A LITTLE BIT OF GRINDING H E H
> 
> ENJOY THE SHOW THIS IS SOMEWHAT LENGTHY

To say Yeosang was having a crisis was an understatement. In complete honesty, he himself had never been on a date. What was he supposed to do? Where was he supposed to take Seonghwa? Did he walk up to Seonghwa’s door or just wait in his car? Was he supposed to bring flowers? Millions of questions were bombarding Yeosang’s head, but there was one that stuck out among the rest. Why did he care? It wasn’t like he liked Seonghwa, or anything. He’d fucked the guy over, and because Mingi and Yunho were threatening Yeosang with beheading, he decided to take the stupidly adorable smart kid on a date. It was a stupid decision, and Yeosang knew that. He knew for a fact - well, for a very educated hypothesis - that the blonde boy was into him. Yeosang almost felt bad, thinking about how he’d just be leading the taller boy on. Because Yeosang didn’t like him.

 

He had already gotten Seonghwa’s address, and had told the boy to wear something nice. Yeosang had chosen to take Seonghwa to one of the highest quality, most upscale restaurant his finances would allow for, which was a more than fair amount. His father was already spending around a hundred thousand won on random women for a few hours a night, so another few hundred thousand for a night out from a credit card Yeosang had stolen weeks ago wouldn’t make a dent in his budget. Of course, his reasoning for the restaurant choice was intentional - Yeosang was hoping that the reputation the restaurant carried would be enough to intimidate and scare Seonghwa off after tonight.

 

He had already instructed Seonghwa to wear something nice, so that was taken care of, but Yeosang was still wandering aimlessly inside his walk-in closet. It made him feel like such a typical entitled rich-bitch. Hell, he was taking a boy he was certain liked him out for dinner to a high-class restaurant as practically charity-work that was in the end for his own benefit… Yeosang tried to push his guilt out of his mind and instead focused on the excessive amount of button-down shirts he had, attempting to pick a decent enough shirt to wear with his black dress pants, but for any color he picked, he had some reason to go against wearing it. His hand vibrated, and he glanced down to see a new message flashing across his phone screen. It was Seonghwa; he was just saying that he was ready to go whenever Yeosang came to pick him up, and that he had money with him. Yeosang’s gaze lingered on his hand a bit longer, and the memory of how Seonghwa had quickly written his number on Yeosang’s hand resurfaced. The ink - purple - had faded, but the feeling of Seonghwa’s hand against his own hadn’t. Suddenly, the dark purple shirt that Yeosang truthfully rarely wore stuck out to him, almost sending up a “wear me” beacon. So that was the one he picked out and hastily slipped on, smoothing out the one wrinkle with one hand as he walked over to his bedroom’s bathroom to pencil some eyeliner along his lower lashline with the other hand.

 

Yeosang was pacing around his room for another minute or so trying to make sure he had everything he needed. Credit card? Check. Cash? Check. Charged phone? Check. Car keys? Check. He took one last look at himself in the floor-length mirror, and pushed his ebony hair back from his forehead, huffing as that one damned strand fell right back against his head. He walked out of his house, phone clutched like a lifeline in his hand. He winced as he passed his father’s room, hearing the high-pitched, pleasured noises of what seemed like not one, but two women through the locked door. His shoulders and back felt almost naked without the heavy leather jacket adorning them, and he looked woefully at the clothing laying against the granite countertops of the main kitchen, but he pushed open the heavy oak door and walked out - slamming it behind him - not sparing the jacket a second glance. Walking down his driveway, he was faced with his two cars - his Aston Martin Vanquish and his Bentley Continental - and his motorcycle. If already being nervous wasn’t enough, now he had to decide what the hell he was supposed to pick Seonghwa up with. He tapped his foot impatiently, trying to weigh the options as quickly as he could. With the nice outfit he was wearing, he figured it would be best to skip out on the motorcycle, especially since he didn’t know how Seonghwa would react to it. Twirling his keys around his fingers, he eventually stopped swinging the metal ring around as it lost momentum, ending up facing towards the Bentley.  He started up the car and looked up at the sky as if to try and ask it for advice on how to have a successful date as he opened the door and slid into the driver’s seat.

 

Yeosang’s hands were shaking on the steering wheel, which provided him with a great deal of confusion. There was nothing to be nervous about, so why was his heart hammering away in his chest? Before he pulled out of his driveway, he glanced down at his watch - subconsciously, he had slipped on his most expensive Breguet watch, perhaps to complete the look - and noticed that there was still a fair amount of time before the reservation he had made. And with that knowledge, he focused his eyes on the road as he began to drive to the florist his family always used for special events. Yeosang was grateful for the lack of traffic and arrived at the shop in what felt like record time. He walked in and sauntered towards the counter, leaning forward and resting on his elbows. The cashier was on her phone, an uninterested expression on her face that could rival Yeosang’s in terms of apathy. “Hello. I’d like a dozen roses. Purple, please.” Yeosang requested, waiting patiently. It took a few minutes for the girl to look up from her phone, and when she did, she sighed.

 

“We’re all out. And closing soon. Sorry.” The girl’s three sentences were tersely stated, and after uttering them, she turned her attention right back to her phone screen.

 

Yeosang hated playing the card that was always dealt in his hand, but this was necessary. He was getting Seonghwa his fucking flowers. “My name’s Kang Yeosang. You might recognize it, you know, since my family is this place’s biggest sole investor. Now, what do you think would happen if you denied the heir to the company some flowers?” Alright, maybe Yeosang didn’t entirely hate playing entitled rich-bitch when it was called for. He bit back a smirk as the girl’s eyes widened and her phone fell from her grip, clattering to the countertop.

 

“M-My apologies, sir-” She stammered, rushing out from behind the counter to enter the back room filled with all the stocks of flowers. “I’ll be right out with them.” Yeosang grinned triumphantly. Sure, he kind of didn’t like his dad because of his  _ leisure activities,  _ but his occupation sure allowed Yeosang to live with a few perks. And the part about being heir to the family business, by god, was that a lie. Yeosang would go insane if he were to be cooped up in an office all day with a tailored, scratchy gray suit rubbing him the wrong way and making his skin prickle. But… His father didn’t currently  _ know  _ that Yeosang wasn’t interested in being some corporate CEO. The girl walked back hastily with the bouquet in her grip and a flush across her face. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Kang, I just wanted to close up shop more quickly so I could go pick up my girlfriend from the airport. I truly do apologize, sir, please, take the flowers on the house-”

 

“No,” A small smile stretched on Yeosang’s face as he took the bouquet from the girl and pulled out one of the roses to hand back to her. “I honestly just wanted to get out of here fairly quickly, too. I needed - well, wanted - to get these for my boyf-” Yeosang cocked his head in confusion at his own words. Again with his damn mouth just  _ saying things _ . “I wanted to get these for this guy that I’m taking out on a date. I don’t like him. It's bordering on charity work at this point, actually.” At the sound of Yeosang’s rambling, the cashier became a bit perplexed. “It’s complicated.” Yeosang said quietly. Except it wasn’t complicated. Yeosang didn’t like Seonghwa. And they weren’t even friends; their situation was more complex. “Anyway, here’s the cash, keep the change.” Yeosang mumbled, fishing a careless amount of notes out of his pocket and placing it into the hand of the girl that wasn’t occupied by a rose stem. He tightened his grip on the bouquet he was holding and started towards the shop’s door, calling a “I hope your girlfriend had a safe flight!” on his way out.

 

The drive to Seonghwa’s house was about ten minutes from the shop, but it felt like ten painfully agonizing hours. Yeosang’s palms were getting slick from sweat -  _ nervousness  _ \- and it caused his hands to come close to sliding off the steering wheel more times than he’d like to admit. When he pulled up to what Seonghwa had told him was the address, his heart was pounding. For some reason. He reached over to the passenger seat to pick up the flowers, and slowly exited his car with the flora. With the way he was walking towards Seonghwa’s front door, one would think Yeosang was on his way to the electric chair. He slowly knocked on the door, and held his breath as it swung open. “Hey, Seo-” Yeosang’s face flushed in embarrassment as his head finally told his mouth that no, who was standing in the doorway was not Seonghwa, but an older woman that must have been his mother. “Oh, Mrs. Park, hello,” Yeosang corrected, dropping into a habitual bow. What? Just because he stole credit cards from his father and exposed the dirtiest secrets of kids at school and had no sense of remorse when it came to breaking rules didn’t mean he wasn’t raised with manners. Yeosang steadied his nerves and imagined like he was at one of his father’s corporate parties, being forced to talk to all the other investors. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m here for your son.”

 

It was then that Seonghwa came into Yeosang’s view, then that Yeosang believed he started to have heart palpitations. Seonghwa was dressed in all black from his button-down to his dress shoes, his hair styled so that it was combed over his forehead, falling over his golden skin in loose waves. Yeosang’s eyes did a not so subtle scan of Seonghwa’s body, but to be fair, he did have his reasons. He’d never seen Seonghwa outside of school, and by proxy never seen him outside of the school issued uniform. And by god, did Seonghwa look stunning in all black. The dark color wrapped over his frame and fit him perfectly, and he was standing at such an angle where Yeosang was staring at his side profile more than anything else. He had a perfect view of how the jet black broadcloth fabric of his shirt was tucked perfectly into his oily black dress pants. A leather belt was cinched around Seonghwa’s waist, and Yeosang’s eyes trailed from the belt down to his slender waist, further down to his hips, and even further down until his gaze ran over the gentle curve and swell of his a- No. Yeosang forced himself to pull his eyes away. Although, if he wasn’t standing directly in front of Seonghwa’s mother, he would have no problem continuing to check the blonde out. Once again, he wasn’t into Seonghwa or anything. But goddamn, Yeosang would be lying if he didn’t admit that Seonghwa was fucking stunning. He made eye contact with Seonghwa for the first time of the night, and almost dropped the bouquet he had just begun to lift up. Seonghwa’s eyes were framed with the faintest hints of eyeliner, and his eyelids were brushed over with a shimmery white powder that made him look nothing short of angelic. Ethereal, even. And his lips, god, his lips. Yeosang had no idea how he’d never paid attention to them before. And especially now, with how they appeared to be painted over with gloss, tinted slightly pink, Yeosang regretted never really noticing them before. If Yeosang liked Seonghwa, he would have kissed the taller boy right then and there. But alas, he didn’t. “I brought you these,” Yeosang said as he held up the flowers, passing them to Seonghwa who took them with a smiler brighter than the sun. And it would have been fine for Yeosang to stop talking there, but once his mouth got itself going, there was no stopping it. “You wrote your number on my hand in purple so I figured you liked the color. Plus, I just thought it would be a nice thing to get you, just as a quick little something… I guess.”

 

Seonghwa was still beaming, and apparently still trying to come up with a coherent sentence. His mother, however, seemed to be unphased by Yeosang’s rambling and Seonghwa’s lack of speech. “When my son told me he was going out tonight, I didn’t expect his date to be a boy.” The way she said it was void of emotion, and it sent a chill down Yeosang’s spine. Was she homophobic? No, she seemed so nice, she couldn’t be. Noticing the silence, Seonghwa’s mother huffed and spoke once more, a smile turning the corners of her eyes up. “Honestly, I prefer it that way. No teen pregnancies.” Seonghwa’s eyes widened and his face reddened as his mother said that, practically mortified. “And as a woman myself, I know how high-maintenance we are. Alright, you two. Have fun. Seonghwa, just keep me updated and tell me if you’ll be spending the night at…” She trailed off as she glanced at Yeosang, silently asking him to fill in his name, to which he instantly complied with. “At Yeosang’s house.”

 

Seonghwa’s face was still red from his mother’s previous comment, but he nodded, handing the bouquet to her. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to them, would you be able to keep these in that vase grandma made? Y’know, the one by the window?”

 

“Of course I can, sweetheart.” Seonghwa’s mother grinned, ruffling Seonghwa’s hair. Yeosang found it to be adorable how Seonghwa’s face scrunched up and he giggled in slight embarrassment. “Now go and enjoy your evening, I’d hate for you to keep Yeosang waiting.” She smiled once more, and disappeared back inside of the house, fully pushing Seonghwa out the doorway and closing the door behind her.

 

“I’m so sorry about her…” Seonghwa stammered, his face still adorably flushed.

 

“Don’t worry about it, blondie. Now c’mon, we have a restaurant to get to.” Yeosang forced himself to smile to try and mask the anxiety building in his stomach. He stretched out his hand for Seonghwa to grab it - because this was supposed to be a date. And that was a date thing, right? Seonghwa smiled, albeit shyly, and accepted the gesture, lacing his fingers with Yeosang’s.

 

“You didn’t have to get me flowers, or anything like that. I know this is basically just an apology. A really expensive apology… By the way, I brought my money so we can split the bill and all that.” Seonghwa mentioned, not making eye contact with Yeosang as they traveled the very short distance to the car.

 

“This,” Yeosang stated, motioning to everything around him with his free hand. “Is a date. I offered to take you out to dinner, and you accepted. I already apologized back in school. And right now, school doesn’t matter. I’m showing you a damn good night, okay?” Yeosang had to admit that he could hear an aggressive edge in his tone, and cleared his throat before continuing. “And I know I didn’t  _ have  _ to get you anything special. I wanted to. So I got you the flowers. And about paying, like hell will I let you do that. First off, we’re going somewhere expensive, and second off, this was my idea. So dinner will be paid with my money.” Yeosang glanced at Seonghwa to see a soft smile spreading on his face. “Cute.” Yeosang muttered under his breath. He opened the passenger side door quietly, motioning for Seonghwa to get inside.

 

“Yeosang, this is such a nice car, where did you even get something like this?” Seonghwa asked in borderline bewilderment as he openly gaped at the luxury car, letting go of Yeosang’s hand to slide into the passenger side.

 

Yeosang huffed out a laugh as he walked around the back of his car to enter through the driver’s side. “I’m the school’s rich bitch, remember?” There was something different in Yeosang’s voice when he spoke. His rhetorical question was absent of virulent intent, and instead held a lightness that Seonghwa hadn’t heard before. “My dad got it for me on my latest birthday.” Seonghwa hummed in response, getting caught up in running his hands over the plush, supple leather of the seats and staring at how clear his reflection appeared in the glossy dashboard. Yeosang grinned as he took note of how interested Seonghwa was in the vehicle. “You can take it for a spin sometime if you want to. But buckle up for now; we gotta leave and I made myself a promise to keep you safe.”

 

“You know you don’t have to be so nice to me…” Seonghwa mumbled, although his inner monologue was still focused on his near desperation to be behind the wheel of a car this expensive and lavish. But he complied to Yeosang’s request and buckled himself into the seat before leaning his head back against the soft headrest and sighing softly. Yeosang closed the door slowly, psyching himself up in the hopes to not lose all abilities of proper social skills. Walking around to the driver’s side of the Bentley, he opened the door and settled into the seat. Seonghwa had begun to look outside through the car’s tinted windows as it started up and Yeosang began to drive. “Really, Yeosang,” Seonghwa said, his voice a quiet mumble. “You don’t have to do any of this. I’m not exactly, I don’t know,  _ worth  _ all the struggle you probably went through to set all this up.”

 

Yeosang frowned at that, and lowered one of his hands from the steering wheel to rest on Seonghwa’s thigh, not exactly realizing where his hand had fallen. “Shut up about not being worth it, I’m giving you the best first date anyone could ever ask for.” Seonghwa tensed at first, sucking in a quick breath that he almost choked on, and hesitantly peered at Yeosang. His eyes were still focused on the road, but once they hit a red light, Yeosang quickly looked down to see why Seonghwa had been staring at him so intently, and his face flushed. “Oh, shit, sorry-” He said, moving to retract his hand.

 

Seonghwa had a millisecond-long war with his head regarding what he was going to do, and it was the risky, touch-starved part of his mind that won leaving the sensible part in the dust. He reached down so that his hand was on top of Yeosang’s, preventing him from moving. “Just keep driving.” His voice was breathy, his sentence rushed. Yeosang slowly nodded, giving Seonghwa’s thigh a soft squeeze before stepping on the gas as the traffic light turned green. The car remained mostly quiet, save for the low volume on the radio Yeosang had turned on halfway through the ride. By the time they had arrived, Seonghwa was more than a bit antsy - either absentmindedly or intentionally, Yeosang’s fingers had been tracing feather-light patterns up and down his thigh - and ready to get out of the car.

 

“Alright, blondie, we’re here. You ready for the best first date?” Yeosang asked, parking the car and switching off the radio. As he moved to open his door and get out of the car, his hand pressed down lightly into Seonghwa’s thigh, making the blonde squeak in response. The devil in Yeosang decided then and there that maybe playing around with Seonghwa - leading him on, just for a bit - wasn’t such a terrible idea. He ran his hand down Seonghwa’s leg as he lifted himself out of the car, and was pleased to hear how the boy’s breath had hitched. Teasing Seonghwa, especially now, was undeniably enjoyable. But that didn’t mean Yeosang liked him. Always a gentleman, Yeosang walked around the front of his car to get to the passenger’s side door. When he opened it, he was faced with a goddamn adorable -  _ no  _ \- a plain old, regular, uninteresting sight. Seonghwa seemed to be retaining a permanent rosy blush on his cheeks, and was peering up at Yeosang with his lips parted ever so slightly. And okay, yeah, Yeosang couldn’t deny it - it was truly a goddamn adorable sight. Yeosang grinned triumphantly as he bent down to give Seonghwa his hand. The taller boy took it, and Yeosang felt that same electricity prickle from his hand up his arm and down his back. Yeosang helped lift Seonghwa out of the car, not letting go of his hand when he had stood up. Seonghwa looked back almost woefully at the car, just a bit upset to leave the gaudy vehicle.

 

“Yeah, ready. I’m ready. For the date. That we’re on. Together. Tonight. Now.” Seonghwa’s broken speech and choppy sentences caused Yeosang to chuckle, the sound bubbling lowly in the back of his throat. Yeosang’s laughing prompted Seonghwa to frown, almost whining - yes,  _ whining  _ \- out a “Don’t laugh at me, Yeosang. I’ll leave. Stand you up.” He tried to sound threatening, but his high-pitched tone just caused Yeosang to grin and give Seonghwa’s hand a small squeeze.

 

“You’re just cute.” Yeosang stated. Upon noticing how the blush on Seonghwa’s cheeks darkened to a ruddy color and started to travel down his neck, disappearing past the collar of his shirt, Yeosang decided to keep his sentence going. “And when you’re blushing? Even cuter.”

 

“Just-” Seonghwa faltered, realizing how his rushed word wouldn’t form into a sentence. “Let’s just go inside.” He suggested - pleaded -, fighting the urge to hide his heated face in his hands. “You said you had a reservation.” Yeosang grinned and silently led Seonghwa towards the ornate double doors that glittered with a metallic sparkle in the setting sun. The doors opened as the couple - no, not couple, just two guys - approached them, and were greeted by the smiling face of a hostess.

 

Yeosang stepped forwards, Seonghwa’s hand tightening nervously around his, and cleared his throat softly before stating. “Good evening, I have a reservation for 7:00.” With the way Yeosang’s voice raised pitch in the ending inflection of his sentence, it sounded more like a question than a statement. “It’s under the name Kang Yeosang.”

 

The hostess’ eyes lit up with a sort of recognition. “Kang Yeosang? Are you the son of-”

 

“Yes.” He interrupted tiredly, trying to hide his aggravation. “Yes, miss, I am.”

 

“Would you and your…” She trailed off, giving Seonghwa an expectant look. The blonde just blinked, any words failing him. Yeosang supplied the young woman with a simply stated ‘date’. “Yes, alright. Would you and your date like our private room? You’ll have more privacy, along with ambient lighting and music of your choice.” Seonghwa’s eyes widened, not accustomed at all to the privileges that something as simple as a name could carry.

 

“That would be lovely. Thank you.” Yeosang articulated his gratitude with a small bow accompanying it, Seonghwa following suit in the action. The hostess smiled and extended her arm, beckoning the boys towards a secluded room. When they arrived at the curtain covered entrance to the private room, she turned around to ask what color lighting they’d like to have and what genre of music they’d prefer. Seonghwa still appeared to be too in shock to talk, either stunned or scared, so Yeosang spoke for the both of him. He thought back to the pen that had been on his hands earlier, the shirt that he was currently wearing. “Purple, please. Dark purple. A dim royal purple, if you can. And if you could just put on some soft classical, that would be greatly appreciated.” The young woman nodded and placed the menus down on the table for two, exiting with a quick bow. Yeosang went to move to pull out one of the chairs for Seonghwa - because yes, he was a true gentleman, even though he wasn’t attracted to Seonghwa - but quickly realized they had never let go of each other’s hand. Yeosang laughed almost nervously, slowly letting go of the taller boy’s hand to complete his original mission and pull out the chair, motioning for Seonghwa to sit down. Seonghwa accepted the invitation and sat down, although he refused to make eye contact with Yeosang. Yeosang sat down across from Seonghwa, and a heavy, awkward silence ensued. Yeosang felt an itch crawl down his back, and then, of course, his mouth ran free. “You’ve seemed off this entire time. What’s wrong? Is this not what you wanted? Not good enough?” Yeosang’s tone turned defensive all too quickly.

 

“No, no, not at all… I’m just in no way used to this kind of luxury. Expensive sports cars, five star restaurants that probably cost more than I can imagine,” Seonghwa glanced down towards the menus, nodding as his eyes scanned the prices. “That  _ definitely  _ cost more than I imagined, private rooms just because of who you’re related to. I just… I don’t live like this, so it’s a bit of an adjustment.”

 

“Oh.” Yeosang breathed out, a slight frown forming on his face. “Well, start getting used to it, because I want this to happen again.” Yeosang’s eyes widened upon realizing what he had said, what he had  _ confessed  _ to. Alarms were blaring inside his head, a loud voice stating ‘we don’t like him’ drowning everything else out.

 

“Again…?” Seonghwa questioned in disbelief. Part of him thought that this was all a prank. The boy he had been pining after for months admitting he wanted to go on another date, maybe even more, with him… It seemed fake.

 

“Uh, shit, I mean,” Yeosang stammered, wracking his brain for the right words. “I’m probably gonna just end up fucking you-” Yeosang’s breath hitched for a heartbeat, responding to his phrasing. “-over again, and this is my apology. So get used to me screwing something up for you and having a fancy dinner that night.”

 

Seonghwa just nodded, feeling a bit deflated. Of course, what was he even thinking? This was Kang Yeosang he was thinking about, the “rebel” that “didn’t do commitment”. The “badass” that “didn’t fuck with feelings”. And Seonghwa would be an idiot to think that anything could ever blossom between the two of them. All Yeosang really ever did to him was tease him in school, and now even more so; Seonghwa could still feel the heat of Yeosang’s palm spreading through his pants to blanket over his skin and put him in a hazy dizzy spell. There was no way in hell Yeosang would have feelings for him, and Seonghwa would just be foolish if he thought otherwise. “Yeah, of course. That makes sense, I guess.” Seonghwa let his thoughts travel back to that damned car - which would leave a lasting imprint on his mind, because yeah, maybe he had a thing for vehicles - and quietly asked, “Hey, so, um, you said your dad bought you that car for your latest birthday?”

 

“Yep.” Yeosang confirmed, leaning back in his chair with an air that could only be carried by someone of status. “Ever since my dad split with my mom a few years back and she moved to the U.S., he started bringing random chicks home on a nightly basis just to fuck ‘em. He kinda just left me on my own to govern myself. That’s when my grades started slipping and when he started excusing me from all the shit I did so I’d stay in school ‘cause he didn’t want to deal with me. I guess I reminded him of my mother. I’m pretty sure the whole reason he got it for me is just so I’d be able to get out of his hair. He must have thought I’d be out every day and night, but I honestly just stay in my room most of the time. Yunho, Mingi, and San come over a lot, though. But I occasionally take my cars for a spin, y’know?” Yeosang paused for a breath, his eyes widening a moment after. “I- I totally just overshared, shit, sorry about that-”

 

“Wait, hold on, you said  _ cars? _ As in, like, more than one?” Seonghwa’s mouth had dried up just from the thought of Yeosang having more than one car, Yeosang pushing him up against a cold chrome door, Yeosang ravishing him in any way he pleased, Yeosang- No. No, Seonghwa couldn’t afford to let himself fantasize over a boy he knew he had no chance with.

 

“Wow, blondie…” Yeosang muttered, whistling in a low tone. “I tell you about how my father doesn’t care about me, and you focus on the cars? I wouldn’t have ever pegged you as someone materialistic.”

 

Seonghwa paled, his mouth dropping open in embarrassment. “No, no, I just-”

 

“Hey, I’m just teasing you, baby. Calm down.” Yeosang interrupted, a small smile making its way onto his face. “You’re fun to tease, fun to rile up. I like seeing you all flustered because of me. It’s cute.”

 

Seonghwa was positively ready to combust. Kang Yeosang was going to be the reason he had an aneurysm and died. Yeosang had called him fucking  _ baby  _ and was smirking at him, and seriously expected Seonghwa to survive that combo attack? Seonghwa wanted to respond, wanted to tell Yeosang to stop because him getting all embarrassed was in no way “cute”, but he just sat there, permanent blush across his cheeks, a puzzled expression on his face. The waiter had walked in then, a pitcher of water in his hand. Quietly, the young man introduced himself as he filled up the glasses, the tinkling sound of the ice cubes hitting the glass blending with the melody of his voice. Placing their orders was a quick affair, and went smoothly, obviously. It was one of the top rated restaurants in the world, after all. Although, another reason for the stellar service just could have been because the entirety of the staff now knew that Kang Yeosang was in their presence. When the young man left, Yeosang was gazing at Seonghwa with a look that could only be classified as unidentifiable, an emotion present in his stare that Seonghwa had never seen before.

 

“What is it? Why are you looking at me like that?” Seonghwa questioned, an anxious tone creeping its way into Seonghwa’s queries.

 

“You look pretty. Or handsome, if that’s what you prefer. Hell, whatever kind of word for beautiful you want me to use, I’ll use it, because it applies. I’ve never seen you out of uniform before, so I guess I’ve been more attentive. And let’s be real - how could I not be attentive when you in all black is deadly?” Yeosang leaned closer, his unbreaking eye contact making Seonghwa squirm under the scrutiny. “And the makeup… I don’t have anything else to say other than it’s fuckin’ hot. I like it.” Yeosang was going to ask the waitstaff if they had duct tape. He needed to put some over his mouth. Because maybe - a very tentative and unsure  _ maybe  _ \- Yeosang was starting to feel some feelings for Seonghwa.

 

“You do? I mean, yeah, clearly you must if you just said that you did, but… You do?” Yeah. Social skills 100, right there. Seonghwa sighed, rolling his eyes at himself. He was Park Seonghwa for crying out loud, one of the most articulate kids in the town. Yet here Yeosang was, completely wrecking that. Seonghwa shuddered then, realizing he shouldn’t have thought the words “Yeosang” and “wrecking” in the same sentence.

 

“Yes, blondie, I do.” Yeosang reassured, his dark eyes sparkling in the purple lighting. Dinner from then on went smoothly, conversation flowing naturally between the two of them, as unlikely as that seemed. By the time Yeosang had started to fish his wallet out to pay the hefty bill, with Seonghwa repeatedly protesting and offering to split the check, they’d shared laughs and traded stories about their childhood. After the transaction had been completed, the boys stared at each other for a length of time that lingered too long to be just amicable. They stood up slowly, breaths catching in their throats as Yeosang offered his hand to Seonghwa. He took it, averting his gaze as he laced their fingers together. They made their way towards the main doors, interlocked hands swinging lazily between them as one of the hosts opened the door for them. The boys bowed quickly, not expecting the simple service to be done for them, Seonghwa mumbling a clipped “Have a good night, sir.” They walked out, the door shut behind them, and the air fell silent. Subconsciously, Yeosang squeezed Seonghwa's hand, asking, “So?” The open-ended question was hopeful, filled with an emotion that Yeosang couldn't - didn't want to - recognize.

 

“So,” Seonghwa breathed out. He turned to look at Yeosang, the shorter boy appearing to be attempting to fight back a smile. Something shifted in Seonghwa, and his smile turned big, edging on giddy. He had been trying to convince himself to not fall even further for Yeosang, but the boy’s smile and everything he said... It was impossible for Seonghwa to resist. “Tonight was…”  _ Wonderful. I like you. I wish I could date you.  _ “Tonight was fun. Thank you, Yeosang. I know I've got nothing to compare this to, but I'm pretty sure this was, in fact, a great first date. But...” Seonghwa's sentence faded. “I guess it's over now.”

 

Yeosang stopped cold in his tracks, next to the passenger door of his car. “Actually, Seonghwa…” He began, already mentally cursing out his mouth for running rampant. “I was thinking, I wanted to take you down to the river. You mentioned earlier you had a few good memories there, and… I don't know, you seem happy right now, and I guess I just want to give you another treasurable memory. Plus, the river holds a lot of meaning for me, too; I used to visit it with my mom all the time. So, uh… I mean, you don't have to say yes. If you wanna get home, then of course. It was just a thought.”

 

“That… That actually sounds amazing, Yeosang.” Seonghwa ran his free hand through his hair, pushing the platinum waves off his forehead. “I've really been enjoying myself tonight. I'll admit, I never expected this sort of thing from you. You've got a pure heart, Yeosangie, and it wouldn't hurt to show it off sometimes.” Seonghwa noticed how Yeosang had tensed and blushed at the nickname, and he instantly started to backtrack. “Sorry, it slipped, I-”

 

“I liked it.” Yeosang spoke hurriedly. “It was cute. So are you.” Hello? Anyone? A roll of duct tape, specifically requested by a Kang Yeosang? Anybody have that? It would be greatly appreciated. “Let's just go before it gets too dark.” Yeosang mumbled, opening the passenger side door. He then realized that getting into the car meant Seonghwa would have to let go of his hand, and it sent an unwanted pang of heartache through his chest. A random thought fired in his brain.  _ I wanna kiss his hand.  _ Yeosang swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, as he pushed the thought down into the untouched depths of his mind. But funnily enough, his mantra of “I don't like him.” was also fading into the background. It seemed as if Seonghwa had gotten into the car with reluctance, also hesitant to break their hands’ connection.

 

When Yeosang had started up the car and began to drive the short distance to the river. Unlike the drive to the restaurant, the vehicle was bustling with the boys’ conversation, about everything and nothing. One would comment on a tree they thought looked pretty, and the other would respond with a pedestrian walking by that had a cool sense of style. It was casual conversation - a kind that neither boy had ever thought they'd be able to carry with the other. Yeosang parked the car in the lot of a small ‘park’ that really only consisted of a few benches and a little set of swings for children. The boys walked - hand in hand, once again - to one of the empty benches that faced the river. The sun had just reached its destination below the horizon, and the pinkish-orange hues of the rippling water had started to twinkle with the faintest, earliest hints of starlight. Sitting down, they silently took in the experience, cataloging the sights, sounds, and feelings for their archived memories. The rush of the water acting as a white noise, the gradient of the sky shifting ever so slightly, the feeling of their hand in the other's.

 

It hadn't gotten any colder, although a warm breeze had started to pick up, drafting off the river, but they both started to lean towards each other. Yeosang tilted his head to look at Seonghwa, and his breath was stolen. All he was doing was looking out at the landscape, but Yeosang would swear on his life he saw stars reflecting in the taller's eyes. With the slight wind, Seonghwa's hair had started to get naturally tousled, and some of the blonde locks had drifted in front of his eyes, obscuring them from view. And still, he was radiant. Yeah, okay… Maybe it was possible that Yeosang had feelings for Seonghwa. Maybe. Yeosang let their hands drop, his landing against Seonghwa's thigh. The blonde sucked in a breath, repositioning his hand so that it was on top of Yeosang's. He liked it that way; still being in contact with Yeosang, but also getting the feeling - a warm, almost comforting one - of the boy's hand against his leg.

 

Sure, the way that Seonghwa's hair was falling into place made him look undeniably adorable, but Yeosang wanted to see his eyes. He wanted to lose himself in the deep pools of hickory, just like he had done during dinner. Slowly, the hand that wasn't holding Seonghwa's traveled up to the boy's face. His fingers gently brushed away the blonde strands from off his forehead, and then came down to trail along his jawline. Yeosang’s hand stopped its movements, lightly pressed against Seonghwa's cheek. It was as if the taller boy had forgotten how to breathe; his chest was tight and unmoving for a few seconds before he forcefully exhaled, the sound audible. It was quiet, save for the ambient sounds of nature around them. Almost too quiet. Yeosang's fingers twitched as gently tilted Seonghwa's face towards himself, also turning inwards towards the boy. Seonghwa's eyes were wide, his golden skin masked by a rosy flush. His lips were just barely parted, painted pink and glossy, and Yeosang couldn't pull his gaze away from them. One quick look up to Seonghwa's eyes, still dusted with the shimmery white shadow, told Yeosang everything he - truly, deep down inside - had already known.  _ I like him. _

 

The world was moving in slow motion. The air was electric. Yeosang leaned forward, his eyes fluttering shut, dark lashes fanning out over his face, as he captured Seonghwa's lips with his own in a kiss slow, soft, and gentle. So unlike what one would think of Yeosang, but still so right and so nice and so fitting. Seonghwa sucked in a sharp breath, his hands flaring outwards before clamping down on whatever surface they found - one tightening its grip on Yeosang's hand, and the other scrambling to find purchase on the smooth planes of the wooden bench. He was stoic for a moment, to a point where Yeosang was debating pulling away and jumping into the river, hoping the current could pull him away and wash over the embarrassment of being rejected. But before he could live out that fear, Seonghwa came to life. He pushed back against Yeosang's lips, a million different emotions behind it. The innocence and inexperience of someone who had never been kissed mixed with the enthusiasm and fervor of someone that had always dreamed of it. The kiss was rough and a little messy, but in their minds, it was perfection. Yeosang was the first to pull away, his eyes shooting open the moment his lips separated from Seonghwa's.

 

“I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that it was an accident-” Yeosang's statement was so rushed, his words sounded as if they were all just one elongated sound. His voice was unsteady, uncertain, and nothing like how he projected himself to be. His lips were tingling from where Seonghwa's light coating of lip gloss had rubbed off on him, and it was an enticing sensation. “I can drive you home now, I'm sorry.”

 

“Don't be, Yeosang-ah…” Seonghwa said. He had raised his thumb up to his face to swipe over his bottom lip, some of the bubblegum gloss streaking off. “That was… It was unexpected. But… I liked it. Liked this. Like  _ you. _ This was all I could ever ask for when it comes to a first date. And my first kiss, with a boy I really fricken like, at a place that holds a special section in my heart? Perfect.”

 

_ He likes me I like him he likes me I like him he likes me I like him he likes me I need to pull it together he likes me I like him he li- pull it together, Yeosang!  _ Yeosang thought he was about to cry. And he never cried. “Can I take you home with me tonight?” Yeah, Yeosang knew the underlying implications that came along with that question. But there was none of that kind of intent behind his words. All Yeosang wanted was Seonghwa, and now that he had admitted it to himself, he couldn't curb it. “I just…” But still, somehow, he couldn't admit it verbally. “If it's okay with you.”

 

Seonghwa had stilled. There was a part of him that screamed “Protect your image!”, but Seonghwa was able, finally, to squash that thought. What image did he truly have? One that other people created for him? One that only existed because he let other people shoehorn him into categories and stereotypes? Seonghwa was done with it. All of it. He was his own person, not some untouchable angel everyone wanted to be. He surged forward, catching himself and Yeosang both by surprise, and kissed the boy once more. “Yeah. Yes. That sounds amazing.” Yeosang hadn't been expecting Seonghwa to actually say yes. But now that he had, Yeosang's excitement washed over him like the sun's rays bathing the world with its light as Dawn approached. He bounded up from the bench, Seonghwa's hand still in his own, and practically sprinted towards the car. “Hey, hey,” Seonghwa teasingly chastised, pulling back against Yeosang's pace. “I'm not going anywhere.” Yeosang just laughed, a hint of that classic and original mischief in his voice, as he opened his car's door, motioning for Seonghwa to climb inside.

 

Yeosang had to admit that during the ride back to his house, he wanted to pull over, unbuckle their seatbelts, kiss Seonghwa - and maybe do some other things - bruisingly, but the strangely sensible part of him told him no. When he pulled into the driveway, however, Yeosang had realized that maybe Seonghwa was wishing for some of the same things. Apparently, he had applied more of the lip gloss during the smooth car ride, because his lips appeared to be so shiny, so pink, so desirable. He'd also made sure to notify his mother of his new plans, as she had asked. When Yeosang parked, and the boys got out of the car, Seonghwa gaped at the opulence of the house, and the many vehicles in its lengthy driveway. Oh. Right. Yeosang was rich. In the past few hours, he'd kind of forgotten that fact.

 

Noticing where Yeosang had parked - next to his Aston Martin and his motorcycle - Seonghwa had the sense to ask, “Are these two yours?” His tone held curiosity and bewilderment. There was also something else in his expression - some sort of desire? His pupils had dilated, tongue swiping out of his mouth to wet his now dry lips.

 

“Yeah… Why? You like it?” Yeosang asked, testing the waters.

 

“I-” Seonghwa breathed out, eyes tracing the lines of the vehicles’ bodies, specifically the cycle. “Yeah. I've always had a thing for- I mean… Y'know, like, I've always liked cars and things of that nature.”

 

Well then. If Yeosang had known Seonghwa would have been so interested by his motorcycle, that's what he would have chosen to pick the boy up on. So sure,  _ that  _ was a missed opportunity, but now he had one right in front of him. “You can actually touch them if you want. Sit on the motorcycle. In fact, I'd like to see how you would look on my bike.” Yeosang's statements had turned explicit. Not in content, but in clarity.

 

“Really?” Seonghwa wondered aloud, stifling an excited giggle when Yeosang nodded. Slowly, he stepped closer to the motorcycle. He approached it carefully as if it were a wild animal, softly running his hand over the chrome body and leather seat. He sucked in a tight breath as he slung one of his legs over the seat, pulling himself up by the handlebars. Seonghwa was a clumsy person by nature, and if not for the kickstand supporting the motorcycle, he most likely would have toppled over. “This…” He breathed out, smile stretching his lips, “Is amazing.”

 

Yeosang walked over towards Seonghwa, some new sort of hunger in his eyes. Seonghwa on  _ his  _ bike, decorated with a smile only for  _ him.  _ Yeosang wasn't possessive, but it didn't stop him from loving how Seonghwa was getting this excitable from things that Yeosang could provide. It made him wonder what the older boy would look like wearing one of his leather jackets. It was already proven that Seonghwa looked stunning in all black, but in leather? The look would be deadly. Yeosang wanted to see it.

 

He was sidled up next to Seonghwa now, hands splayed out on the seat. They made a few seconds of eye contact, Yeosang asking nonverbally for permission, Seonghwa nodding and mumbling out a quick “Yes.” He shifted around on the bike so that he was sat atop it in a position that could only be described as side-saddle. His arms dangled almost oddly, which Yeosang realized. He grabbed Seonghwa's hands to lock them around his own waist. Seonghwa grinned as he got the message and pulled Yeosang close to him. Yeosang's arms came to drape over Seonghwa's shoulders, his hands curling upwards to toy with the waves of hair that started at the nape of his neck. A breath later, and they were kissing once more, just a light press of lips against lips. It was light again, and Yeosang's knees quivered at the feeling of the slightly sticky lip gloss against his own mouth. And the softness of the kiss worked, for a time. Surprisingly, it was Seonghwa that first hungered for more. He pulled Yeosang even closer, their hips aligning as best they could with the odd angle, a small whine escaping his lips. Yeosang's heart rate sped up at the sound, and he tightened his hands in Seonghwa's hair. The action just pulled another slight sound from Seonghwa. Yeosang pulled back for a moment, mouth opening to mutter a quick, “Would it be okay if we ma-”

 

“Kang Yeosang, I swear to god, I'll leave if you  _ ask  _ to make out with me.” Seonghwa interrupted. He shivered at his own harshness, but he liked it. The feeling of being able to speak his mind and not worry about living up to fake expectations. So he kept it going. “Now come back here and put your damn tongue in my mouth.”

 

Yeosang almost choked. He pushed Seonghwa's head towards his own with a force that almost knocked him off the motorcycle, and it caused Seonghwa to wrap his legs around Yeosang's waist for stability, moving his arms up to his sides. Yeosang didn't spare a second before he swiped his tongue over Seonghwa's bottom lip. With the way his lips parted with ease - and, dare he say it, expertise - Yeosang found it hard to believe this would be his first time ever making out with somebody. Yeosang let his tongue explore Seonghwa's mouth - it was hot, wet, and like a drug to him; intoxicating and addicting. And honestly, Seonghwa's inexperience - the way he wasn't entirely sure what to do, how his legs tightened around Yeosang's waist as he gasped into the boy's mouth, the kiss becoming sloppy, and sounds of spit being exchanged filling the air - made it so, so much better. Who would have known the two of them would prefer something messy like this over something quaint and controlled, like they had previously been?

 

“You're,” Seonghwa panted, eyes glazed over. “You're really… Really good. Yeah. Good.” His chest was heaving, skin practically buzzing with electricity. “I'm gonna shut up now.” He announced, licking his lips before once again diving towards Yeosang's mouth. He giggled as they collided, eyes closing as he smiled against Yeosang's lips. Yeosang mumbled something inaudible as he pressed himself closer, his hips slotting against Seonghwa's. The angle mixed with the force sent shock waves down both their spines, and Seonghwa threw his head back as his whole body trembled. “That-” He breathed out, voice shaky. His face was flushed a bright red that Yeosang could see, even in the darkness of dusk. “Again. Please, Yeosang, do that again.”

 

“Damnit, blondie..." Yeosang groaned, words falling against Seonghwa's lips, their hot breaths mingling. "I wonder how the school would feel if they knew that their perfect, pure little angel is such-" Yeosang paused, leaning down to nip at Seonghwa's neck. It was a spur of the moment decision, one with possible consequences he hadn't considered. As his teeth sunk down gently into soft honey skin, Yeosang reveled in the broken whine that he dragged out of Seonghwa. "-a goddamn sinner." On the last word, Yeosang lifted his head back up to meet Seonghwa's mouth once more, biting down on his lower lip and tugging it towards himself, continuing to draw pleas and cries from the boy. Slowly, he rolled his hips against Seonghwa's, and his blood ran hot when the blonde whined out an unsteady permutation of Yeosang's name. He pulled away for a moment, wanting to get a good look at Seonghwa, at how his platinum hair shone in the moonlight. And when he did, god, Seonghwa's reaction was one he wished he could have caught on camera. He groaned in frustration, his hips chasing for contact that was no longer there. When he realized it, he tensed before swiveling his hips downwards, biting back a whimper at the friction the leather seat was giving him. There was hunger in Yeosang's eyes when he stepped forward once more, cold and calculating. “Is this what you meant when you said you had a  _ thing _ for 'cars and things of that nature’, Seonghwa?”

 

“Yes, Sangie-” Seonghwa choked out, his eyes opening to reveal them shiny and filled with unshed tears. “Wanna kiss you again, please, Yeosang, want you-” He stammered on, hands shaking at his sides.

 

“C'mere, baby, I wanna show you one more thing.” Yeosang's words were soft-spoken and calming. He wrapped his arms around Seonghwa's waist and lifted him off the bike, grinning as the slightly taller boy curled into his arms. “You're too fuckin’ cute, I don't think I'll be able to handle any more of this…” He teased. Seonghwa groaned into his neck as a noncommittal response. When Yeosang gently let Seonghwa down to stand on his own, his legs were shaky. “You're alright, Seongie, I've got you.” He whispered, smiling when the boy nodded and started to have his breathing become less erratic. “You really got that worked up just from a little kissing?” Yeosang asked, a lighthearted smirk plastered on his face.

 

Seonghwa pouted. “Shut up, you know I haven't ever done that before. Didn't know what to expect, didn't know it was gonna be that good…” He laced his fingers in between Yeosang's. “Now, what's this one last thing?” So, Yeosang walked with Seonghwa around to the side of his house, began explaining, and… Okay. Yeah. If Seonghwa had known what Yeosang would have asked… He never would have asked the boy to show him this mysterious 'last surprise’.

 

“Yep, all you gotta do is climb up the fence. It's sturdy, believe me, I once had Yunho scale it carrying Mingi in one arm and Sannie on his back. Fun times.” Yeosang was saying this like it was nothing. Like he actually believed Seonghwa could climb up a damn fence and hoist himself up on top of the house's roof. Sure, the section of the roof that Yeosang had been talking about - and was already up on - was only one story up, and flat, but Seonghwa was more than a bit nervous. “If you don't want to, I'll come down and we can go inside through the front door.” Surprisingly enough, that care in Yeosang's words was the impetus that caused Seonghwa to set his jaw, and grip the fence, looking up at Yeosang with a determined glint in his eyes. By the time he got near the rooftop, Yeosang was leaning close towards the edge, stretching his hands out to pull Seonghwa up.

 

Seonghwa's eyes were dark as he stared at Yeosang, now safely atop the massive house's roof. He never really took charge in a social setting, but a voice inside his head told him to sit down on Yeosang's lap and take what he wanted. He followed that voice's advice. He climbed over Yeosang's lap, promptly sinking himself down on the other boy's thighs without a word. Yeosang took a moment to truly take in the sight of him. Blonde hair messy and tousled, sticking up at all ends. Cheeks rosy and flushed. Lips -  _ god, _ his  _ lips  _ \- kiss-bitten and swollen, the lip gloss smeared across his mouth and down his jaw, a spot even visible on his neck. He looked wrecked. He looked beautiful. And Yeosang wanted more of it. He leaned in close, once again gently biting down on the column of Seonghwa's throat. He lost himself in sucking the skin into his mouth and biting at it, tongue laving over the red marks that were quickly turning red. Yeosang's mind found itself wandering back to Seonghwa's effortless laugh he'd heard back in the restaurant, to the way he looked pleasantly surprised when Yeosang had gifted him the roses. But the current Seonghwa that was here with Yeosang, he was breathing heavily, tilting his head to the side to expose more of his skin for Yeosang to have his way with. “Your neck-” Yeosang groaned, the sound low in the back of his throat. “Somehow it's fuckin’  _ soft  _ and I wanna mark it up.” Yeosang wanted Seonghwa to be his. He wanted to be Seonghwa's. And here it came, yet again, his mouth running wild. “I like you. I really like you, Seonghwa, and I want to go out with you. More than once. Like boyfriends. I want to be your boyfriend, I want you to be my boyfriend. I want to take you out on dates and make you smile and laugh and feel happy and valued and treasured because I know how hard you are on yourself… And I want to show you that you're worth the world. More than the world. Seonghwa…” Yeosang paused for a moment, collecting his breath. “Be my boyfriend.”

 

“Yes. Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, ye-” Seonghwa's energetic, repetitive agreement was interrupted by Yeosang crashing their mouths together and carding his hands through Seonghwa's hair, messing up the blonde waves even more. It felt like they stayed there for hours, breathing in each other's air and melting in each other's arms. When the two of them had started to shiver, not only from the excitement of a legitimate relationship - and making out, but from the cold, Yeosang pulled away, his hands still cradling Seonghwa's - his boyfriend's - face.

 

“Let's go inside. Get you all warmed up. I've got a king-sized bed, you know…” Yeosang grinned, leaning against where the roof started to slant upwards. Seonghwa paled. Sure, he liked Yeosang, but… He could sense some clear implications in his last statement. And this was only the night of his first date, first kiss. Yeosang seemed to pick up on Seonghwa's hesitation and flushed, almost as if he took the color from Seonghwa's face. “I-” he choked out. “Not like that. Not like that at all. I phrased that wrong. I don't think before I speak. Whoops. I, uh, what I'm trying to say is, um… I'm cold. I'm tired. You're cold. And I wanna go inside and sleep. With you. In a literal sense. Completely PG. I wanna cuddle with you. My boyfriend.”

 

Seonghwa breathed out a sigh of relief. “Yeah, okay. That sounds good. I wanna cuddle with my boyfriend, too. He's sweet, and not at all like how other kids make him out to be. I really like him.” Yeosang giggled, and Seonghwa wanted to save the sound forever. Yeosang shifted towards the window nearest them, and pushed it open. He toppled backwards into the house with Seonghwa in tow, his back bouncing on his mattress. Seonghwa was laughing at the spontaneity of the action, and as he held himself up above Yeosang, he realized maybe that detention hadn't brought him the end of his life, but the start of a new chapter in it. He let himself fall into Yeosang's arms, head against the raven-haired boy's chest.

 

They fell asleep soon after, but maybe - just maybe - they had kissed a little more before letting themselves drift off, wrapped in the other's embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I DID IT I FINISHED I WROTE THIS IM STARTING THE VANISHED TOMORROW AND AFTER THAT Y'ALL ARE GETTING YUNGI AND THEN A WHOLE NEW AU AND THEN ANOTHER SEONGSANG AND THEN YET ANOTHER SEONGSANG AND BIG SHOCKER SEONGSANG AFTER THAT (the sequel to pynask) AND AFTER THAT IT'S ANGSTY WOOSANG THEN SOME YUNMINJOONG AND THEN SEONGJOONGSANG AND LAST IN MY PLANNING LIST IS A JONGWOO SO Y'ALL WILL BE GETTING PUMPED WITH CONTENT RERHEHEURHFHJDIFJ PLEASE ENJOY
> 
> ILYSM ATINY SMILE N ALL THAT  
> XOXO LYSS

**Author's Note:**

> ahh hehe yep the first part of a little fluffy twoshot because this is a trope/prompt that I truly do love. It's also slightly based on real life because I have a chemistry class that doesn't know how to function and a few weeks ago we/they almost burned down the school because screwing with the Bunsen burner is not smart. Lab safety, people!! Haha, anywayyy, I hope that those who decided to read this will stick around until the second part is written/posted!!! it's pretty fun for me to write uwu also rebel!yeosang and soft!seonghwa are lovely concepts.
> 
> (for those that are here that read my other works the vanished will be updated soon! and I have another *ahem* /e x p l i c i t/ SeongSang fic coming out in a few days so yepppp; there's also gonna be a YunGi fic that takes place in this same universe)
> 
> Have a stellar day/night, ATINY!! (I really wanna call y'all something,, idk,, more specific?? but idk what oof we love struggling) Get some rest and take a drink of water <3  
> xoxo, Lyss


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